Caitlin Clark Wants Mitchell Back With Fever Despite Fan Comments
· Yahoo Sports
Caitlin Clark made it very clear: She wants Kelsey Mitchell back on the Indiana Fever.
Speaking in her exit press conference Thursday, Clark said that the Fever’s No. 1 priority in the offseason should be re-signing the four-time All-Star.
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“There’s nobody I would want to share the backcourt with other than her,” Clark said.
Mitchell, who has played all eight seasons with the Fever since they drafted her with the No. 2 pick in 2018, is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. She signed a one-year, $1.4 million max deal this past offseason after the Fever gave her the core designation.
During her exit interview Saturday, Mitchell said she had yet to make a decision on her future, calling it “TBD.”
“I haven’t thought that far yet,” Mitchell said. “It’s about figuring out what I need, figuring out what my family needs. I’m getting older; I’m not getting younger, unfortunately. But I’ve obviously built a Fever family here, so whatever conversation I have to have, I’ll have them.”
Mitchell, 30, said she’ll be “selfish” when making a decision this offseason, acknowledging that being a member of the Fever has its “ups and downs” particularly because of the attention the team gets because of Clark.
“Showing up everyday to compete for fans that may or may not like you is hard. I don’t think people understand that,” MItchell said Saturday.
“Playing with CC and having the eyes that she got, we get a lot of flack for just being on her team. And I think that comes with a lot too. I just think people got to give us grace. I think this organization has been unbelievable but when it comes to really trying to be yourself, it hasn’t always been easy.”
Several WNBA players have spoken about receiving hate from the Fever fan base. After the Sun played the Fever in a 2024 playoff series, Alyssa Thomas said that Fever fans subjected her to the worst racist abuse she had experienced in her WNBA career.
Last week, four-time MVP A’ja Wilson was involved in an incident at Gainbridge Fieldhouse with a Fever fan. Wilson approached a fan courtside who had pointed at her, and was handed a technical foul. The fan was temporarily removed from their seat, before being allowed to return by arena security.
Arena security and the WNBA determined that the fan had not violated the Fan Code of Conduct, while the league ruled that Wilson’s actions did not warrant a suspension.
On Saturday, Fever GM Amber Cox told the media ended her exit interview by reading a statement that defended the organization’s fan base and implying that its reputation as racist was unfair.
“The attacks on our fan base have no basis in reality, and they need to stop especially with members of the media,” Cox said.
“There is a line and people need to be held accountable if they cross it. But here’s the fact: we did not have one fan pointed out by a player who violated the WNBA Code of Conduct this season,” Cox said.
Aces center Brianna Turner, who played on the Fever last season, called Cox’s description “unequivocally false.”
“Players inside and outside the organization have repeatedly issued complaints with the Fever Fanbase. While it’s not all Indy fans, it’s certainly a trend. To say the attacks have ‘no basis in reality’ is disingenuous,” Turner wrote on X.
Clark said Thursday that she was “upset” when she saw Mitchell’s comments, saying that she does not agree with those that use her to spew hate.
“You care about your teammates so much and you don’t want any of them to go through something like that,” Clark said. “I think for the people that have followed me, obviously, there is such a microscope on me, and that kind of comes with everybody else that I’ve been teammates with, whether that was my time at Iowa, whether that’s been here. It comes with a lot of really great things, and then, at times, there can be some negatives.
“I think as far as people that have used me to demonstrate racist rhetoric or hate or discrimination—that is not something I stand for, that’s never been something I’ve stood for. For those of you that know me you know, that’s not what I’m about. It’s not how I was raised. So that’s really disappointing when people do that.”
Clark said she’s has spoken to Mitchell since her exit interview, but it was not about her comments about the challenges of playing for the Fever: “It was more so wrapping up the end of the season and letting her know how much I really enjoy getting to be around her and play with her and appreciating everything that she’s done for me.”
Clark added that she told Mitchell how much she wants her back and hopes they can play together for the rest of their careers.
Sophie Cunningham’s Future
The Fever have also garnered added attention this year due to backup guard Sophie Cunningham, particularly after her comments in a July ESPN article on transgender participation in women’s sports.
“I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men,” Cunningham said.
Like Mitchell, Cunningham, 30, is also an unrestricted free agent. She joined Indiana in 2025, and re-signed on a one-year, $655,000 deal last offseason.
Asked whether the outside noise will influence the decision to re-sign Cunningham, Cox said “no,” but described her as Cox described her as a “really solid leader in the locker room.”
Cunningham has yet to speak to reporters since Indiana’s season ended.
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